It's all about the rider ....

[tyred]

Agree with the sentiments some have posted above that it's not the bike, not the rider but the ride... YOUR ride.

If that's dressing in team kit, adjusting cadence to maintain optimal heart rate, squeezing every last 0.5 kmh (because pros don't think in mph) out of your legs on your £3000 carbon bike then good for you.

If it's pottering along a quiet canal path, smelling the roses and listening to the birds on your heavy old 3 speed with your picnic and a bottle of bubbly packed in your wicker basket then good for you.

If it's bombing down muddy mountain tracks on full suspension bikes getting a face full of sheep sh*te off your knobbly tyres, dodging boulders and ploughing through ditches full of water then good for you.

If it's gaining personal satisfaction from spending as little as possible on your daily transport but still managing to ride a well maintained bike that takes you to work 5 days a week and out in the country at weekends while costing less per year than some people spend on carbon bottle cages / air fresheners for their cars / monthly bus tickets then good for you.

Just accept that everyone is riding their own ride - and their priorities may be different to yours.

(just re-read that... sorry for the sermon, went off on one there!)

Common sense view on an internet forum

That idea will never catch on...

 

[Accy cyclist]

I saw my first TdF polka dot jersey the other week. Meaning i haven't seen another cyclist(apart from on tv) wearing one..ever! I've always wanted one(coming from a mountainous region),so i'm going to buy one and try not to think what others might think of me for wearing one.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

my black bianchi kit is an ebay fake...does that make me poor, wretched and unloved?

 

[HLaB]

To a certain degree I would agree its all about the rider but once you get to a certain level that wee bit extra more is down to the bike, I'm thinking pqrticulary about TT's. As to kit I find its good fitting kit rather than cost that makes the difference.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Same way as people rubber neck at car accidents, it is ugly, unpleasant.... yet you feel compelled to look!

With equipment and clothing there is an optimum and I think that it is lower than one might expect. I think the point is that a lot can be achieved with relatively little. It didn't come across as pious denial to me. Inexpensive transport is the main attraction of cycling for me and I'm glad other people find it so. Nothing wrong with having all the gear though. There is enjoyment to be had from experiencing the best of what is available. It is another vitue of cycling that the very best of it can be experienced by a great deal of people if they put their minds to it. Relatively the elite stuff is very cheap compared to motoring. Your average person couldn't afford a formula one car to muck about with but with careful saving and such the average person could get a similar bike to Wiggins.
There's room for every sort of cycling and cyclist and all (well most) have their virtues.

 

[screenman]

my black bianchi kit is an ebay fake...does that make me poor, wretched and unloved?

Yep!

 

[jayonabike]

While most people in this thread snigger at people on expensive bikes and kit, Im the other way round. I point and laugh at the pathetic peasants on cheap hybrids/ road bike look-a-likes in aldi/lidl kit.

 

[Cyclopathic]

While most people in this thread snigger at people on expensive bikes and kit, Im the other way round. I point and laugh at the pathetic peasants on cheap hybrids/ road bike look-a-likes in aldi/lidl kit.

Come now, that really isn't in the spirit of things.